Wisconsin Assembly allowed to intervene in redistricting

By: Associated Press//November 14, 2018//

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MADISON (AP) — A panel of federal judges is allowing the Wisconsin Assembly to intervene in a lawsuit over the constitutionality of political boundaries drawn by Republicans.

The judges said in an order issued late Tuesday that the recent election of Democrat Josh Kaul as Wisconsin attorney general “introduced potential uncertainty” into the defense strategy. Kaul said before the election that he would defend the maps, but allowing the Assembly to intervene in the case gives it an opportunity to speak for itself.

Republicans drew the maps in 2011. Democratic voters brought a lawsuit in 2015 arguing that the state Assembly and Senate district maps were gerrymandered to give Republicans an unfair advantage.

The U.S. Supreme Court this summer sent the case back to federal court in the state, saying the plaintiffs hadn’t legal standing to bring it.

A second trial is scheduled for April.

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